The Sato Case
by samararh3
Summary: This story explores the investigation surrounding the murder of Asami's mother and Hiroshi Sato's wife, Yusoko. WIP!
1. Chapter 1

The Sato Case: Chapter 1

It was a normal day like any other for the Chief of Police as she carried out her morning routine. Every day Lin would wake up, make a pot of tea, then turn on the radio as she sat at her kitchen table and grazed through the Republic City Gazette and the Ba Sing Se Times. Two newspapers ensured that all of her bases were covered. The Times, though slightly biased, was much more attuned to the goings on in the Earth Kingdom, while the Gazette focused more on world affairs. It was good she had over an hour before she had to leave for work because the business section of the Gazette was bursting with information specifically about a young entrepreneur who was taking the world by storm with his idea for a global shipping business.

She was half way in to her second cup of tea when an urgent local news update sounded on the radio. Lin set the paper down and listened intently with a concerned look on her face.

"Breaking news! Sadness is in the hearts of Republic City this morning as we learn of last night's devastating events. Yasuko Sato, wife, mother, and philanthropist, was found dead in her home at the Sato mansion." Lin sat up, her heart racing from the terrible news. "Late last night, firebenders broke into the massive Sato estate, one of them killing the beloved Yusoko Sato, wife to multi-million yuan business man Hiroshi Sato and mother to six year old Asami." Lin stood up right away, knowing where this story was heading. "There are no further details at the moment, however..." Before the announcer could get out another sentence about what the police were doing about this situation, Lin ran into her bedroom to change.

She had just bent her metal suit around her body when her home phone rang. She scurried back into the kitchen and answered it as she struggled to pull on her coat with one hand.

"Hello?" She asked quickly, then recognized the voice on the other end. "Saikhan, what - I'm on my way to the station now. - The hospital? - Fine. I'll meet you there."

She raced out the door and headed for the hospital, not yet knowing what was in store.


	2. Chapter 2

The Sato Case: Chapter 2

Lin burst into the entrance of the hospital, as two officers and Lieutenant Saikhan appeared at her side; they had been anticipating the Chief's arrival.

"What happened?" She asked seriously without breaking a stride as they led her through the halls toward their destination.

"As you already heard, a group of firebenders broke into the Sato residence at approximately two in the morning last night." Saikhan informed, meeting the Chief's pace and urgency.

"Triads?" She asked automatically.

"Not sure. All we know is that Mr. Sato found his wife a short time after the perps left the house. He called police headquarters and four guys sped out there along with an ambulance. Mrs. Sato was rushed to the hospital, but she passed before the healers were able to begin."

"And the perps?" She asked as they turned down a hallway.

"Trail was cold long before we arrived..."

"Of course it was..."

Lin stopped abruptly when she saw Hiroshi speaking to a doctor further down the hall. She could see he had been crying.

"The daughter is in the lobby with a caretaker. I have officers posted at all entrances and exits to ensure the safety of the family." Saikhan continued, realizing that Lin was at a loss for questions.

"Thank you, Lieutenant. I'll only be a moment." Lin said quietly to him. She hated this part. It was by far the worst part of her job; having to coordinate with the family of the deceased. This situation was even more challenging for her personally. Most victims were people she never met, but Yasuko was someone she knew and a person she considered a professional friend.

Lin took a deep breath and calmly approached the doctor and Hiroshi. "Please excuse me, Mr. Sato." Lin said in her most empathetic voice.

The doctor nodded her direction, knowing his job was done. "If you have any other questions, Mr. Sato, please don't hesitate to ask."

Hiroshi turned toward Lin as he wiped away a few tears behind his glasses. "Chief Beifong. I'm relieved you are here."

"I am sorry for your loss, Hiroshi. Yasuko will be missed by many." She said solemnly.

The widowed man looked at Lin with pure grief in his eyes. "Thank you."

"The police will be launching a full investigation into this incident, and -"

"This was no incident." He said, interrupting her. "This was a premeditated and viscous attack against my family."

"I understand."

"No, I do not think you do." He responded with a twinge of hatred in his voice. "I want them found. I want this to be done quickly, and I want them to pay the price."

"I assure you that I will personally do everything in my power to ensure that the men who did this are brought to justice." Lin said with confidence then paused as Hiroshi registered her declaration. "We will provide a full police detail for the safety of you and your daughter during this time of uncertainty. Please give your official statement to Detective Lee; the sooner we get started, the better."

Hiroshi barely nodded, but it was enough for Lin to get the message.

"Detective Jian and Officer Song will take you home when you are ready. They'll keep you safe. Again, we are very sorry for your loss, Mr. Sato..." Lin bowed respectfully and turned to leave.

"Lin," Hiroshi called out, causing her to turn around. They made eye-contact, intense and connected. "Don't let them get away with this."

The Chief simply bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement of this statement and walked away. "Wasn't planning on it." She mumbled to herself as she made a b-line for the exit.


	3. Chapter 3

The Sato Case: Chapter 3

A few hours after everyone left the hospital, Chief Beifong drove up to the main gate which led to the Sato mansion. Immediately after exiting the vehicle, she was rushed by a crowd of reporters all vying for the Chief's attention and statement. She simply lifted her hand and weaved through the overzealous journalists to be let in by one of her security officers. She made her way up a manicured walk to the estate; an enormous building settled on a vast plot of land with plenty of acreage behind it. Lin knew the place well. She had attended several events there on formal occasions - happier occasions...

She walked in through the extravagant front doors and found the foyer littered with officers and forensics experts. Lieutenant Saikhan and Detective Li, who were running point on this case, were still assessing the scene.

"What do you have so far?" The Chief asked as she approached them.

Li flipped his notebook to the previous page and read, "Mrs. Sato and her daughter Asami were upstairs at the time of the break-in. Approximately 2 in the morning. Everyone was supposedly asleep, except for Mr. Sato who was busy in his workshop. The perps entered the mansion through a side door, shattering the glass window on their way in. Based on the statement from the girl Asami, there were four of them. They took several items from different rooms in the house; fine art, crystal, jewelry, you name it... If it was valuable, they took it. We're thinking that Mrs. Sato heard the glass shatter and then caught them in the act. They killed her and then fled the scene, presumably through the point of forced entry."

"Cause of death?"

"Stabbed in the stomach." Li replied, "but there is very little blood on the scene."

"I can see that." She said, gesturing down to the crime scene tape where the violence occurred and examining it.

"The doctor said that the wound was somehow cauterized, but we're waiting on conformation from the coroner. As far as I know, there's only one way a wound can be burned like that."

"So, we're looking for a firebender."

"Seems so. It's a shame too. The doctor said that due to the cauterization, she could have survived if she had been hit in a slightly different place."

"Ah. A firebender and an experienced killer."

"How do you figure?" Saikhan asked.

"He aimed to kill, Lieutenant." Beifong said as she surveyed the scene. "Take me to the point of entry."

Li and Saikhan pointed the way to a small door at the end of a coat room that lead out to the left side of the home. Cheif Beifong stepped up to the door and examined the hole punched through the glass. She carefully opened the door and looked down at the shattered glass on the ground. "Tell me gentlemen, if they broke in through this door and unlocked it, then why is all of the glass on the outside of this room?"

Li and Saikhan both squeezed into the tiny room and peered at the glass in astonishment. "She's right. How did we miss that?" Li mumbled and searched through his notebook.

"What does it mean?" Lieutenant asked.

"It means that this door was unlocked, or - well, you tell me Lieutenant."

After he realized what she was saying, Saikhan rushed back into the foyer and called to an officer stationed at the door.

"Officer Bao!"

"Sir!" the young man replied formally.

"Get me Detective Jian! We need a list of everyone who had access to this house."

Lin lowered her voice and beckoned Li and Saikhan to come near. "This room is also too far away from the bedrooms. Even if they broke the window upon entry, no one would have heard it. I think this happened on their way out."

"Why would anyone break a window on the way out of a burglary?" Saikhan asked skeptically.

"To protect the person who let them in, or at least the person who gave them access to this door." Lin explained.

"We have to be very careful with how we proceed." Li interjected. "If this was an inside job -"

"Keep this information quiet - for now. If the accomplice is close, we don't want to tip him off."

"Agreed. What's next, Chief?" Saikhan asked seriously as they moved back into the foyer.

"We need more information about the actual attack. You said before that you took a statement from the young Asami?"

"That is correct." Li replied.

"Did she provide any useful information? Descriptions of the assailants, what they sounded like -"

Li shook his head, but still checked in his notebook again. "She was very shaken up and exhausted. All she told us was that the bad men chased her mom down the stairs, hurt her, and then fled the building."

Lin gazed up the elegant staircase, a look of determination in her eyes. "I think it's time we revisit her statement."


	4. Chapter 4

The Sato Case: Chapter 4

Chief, Lieutenant, and Detective all walked up the enormous marble staircase and took a left down the hallway. The butler stood guard outside of a fancy door with small origami cranes strung to the handle.

"Mr. Zhong. We need to speak with Miss Sato." Lin said, all business.

"One moment, please." He replied and disappeared into the bedroom.

They waited patiently until Hiroshi, disheveled and irate, arrived at the door. "What is the meaning of this? You already got your statements. My daughter has been through enough." He hissed.

"Mr. Sato - " Lin began calmly but was interrupted.

"She is only a little girl. What could you possibly want to ask her?"

"Mr. Sato..."

"I need you to get out of my house! Get out of my house and do your jobs!"

"Hiroshi!" Lin said forcefully, matching his escalated volume and tone. "I am trying to do my job. You asked me to find the men who did this and put them to justice. I can't do that if you don't let me speak with that little girl. She is the key to entire case. I need to know what she saw, who she saw - it's the only way to get the information we need before the trail runs cold."

"I don't want my daughter exposed to this. She is only a child!"

Just then, a very young lady with long black hair appeared at her father's side. "What's going on?" She asked in a small voice.

Sato looked horrified and took the girl in his arms. "Nothing my dear, they were just leaving."

"I remember you." Asami said as she looked at the Chief.

Lin was taken aback, but she knew that this was a moment and she needed to seize it. "From the winter solstice party, right?" Lin said with a kind smile.

"Yep. You didn't dress up. Mommy always makes me dress up. Why do you always wear that?"

"It's my uniform. I'm a police officer, and if it's alright with your father, I would like to ask you a couple of questions."

"That's enough." Hiroshi growled. "I did not authorize this."

"It's okay, daddy. I'm good at answering questions."

Maybe it was the sheer innocence of this girl, but this case was getting more and more difficult. Lin and Sato stared each other down for a moment before Lin was able to speak.

"Just give me ten minutes - and then we'll leave. You have my word."

"Please, daddy."

"Alright." He agreed reluctantly. "Ten minutes."

Everyone entered the bedroom and took a seat, per the butler's suggestion. Lin sat down at a small tea table across from the six-year-old who insisted she serve them "tea" for the occasion. She took out her fancy china tea set, that most little girls could only dream of, and set it on the table.

"Now, Asami." Lin began. "I am going to ask you some questions and I need you to answer the best that you can. Can you do that?"

"Yes. I can."

"Alright then - I need you to tell me what happened last night. Anything you can remember."

"The bad men chased mommy down the stairs and hurt her really bad."

"Yes. The bad men. How many did you see?"

She counted on her fingers before saying the number. "Four."

"What did they look like? Tall? Short?"

"One man was very tall. and the other ones were not tall or short."

"You're doing great so far. Did you see any of their faces?"

"Not really, but... One of them had a - a..." She gestured to her upper lip.

"A mustache? The tall one?"

"No."

Lin turned momentarily to Li who insisted on standing behind her by the door. "So, we got four males, one tall, three medium height, and one medium height with a mustache. Make sure you are getting this down." She turned calmly back to Asami. "Okay, so before you saw them, what happened?"

"I heard a noise in the house. I went to mommy's room, but I couldn't get there, so I went to go back to my room. Mommy jumped out and scared me."

[It was the middle of the night when little Asami awoke to a shuffling sound in the hallway. "Mom?" she called in a little, nervous voice. When no one answered, she slid out of bed and crept to her bedroom door. She jumped slightly when the noises passed again in the hall, but this time it sounded like whatever it was descended the stairs to the main foyer. Asami turned the knob and slowly opened the door so she could see out into the hall. It was dark and the area rug outside of her room was disheveled, but no one was there. The sounds of clanking and footsteps echoed from the cavernous foyer up the massive staircase. Asami opened the door a little wider and peered into the empty hallway. After mustering up some courage, she crept out and walked stealthily toward her mother's bedroom. She stopped at the top of the stairs, knowing she would have to be out in the open to reach the bedroom on the other side of the hallway. She peeked around the corner and down the staircase, seeing a figure in dark clothing dart from one side of the room to the other carrying a clanking bag. Asami's eyes widened. She immediately turned around to return to her room, but something, or someone, stopped her.]

"Oh - Did you scream? I would have screamed if someone scared me like that."

[Asami let out a high-pitched scream that was immediately blocked by the hand of the figure. They knelt down to her level, and Asami was relieved to see the face of her mother. Yusuko removed her hand from her daughter's mouth and held up one finger in front of her lips. Heart racing, Asami nodded quickly, complying with their unspoken agreement.]

"Yes... I did..."

"It's okay. What happened next?"

"Mommy said to hide like in Hide and Shriek. Let me show you." Asami got up, took the Chief's hand and began leading her into the hallway.

Lin glanced back at Hiroshi whose harsh expression hadn't changed since he first opened the door.

"She put me in here and told me to hide." Asami said as they approached a hall closet with an ornate pattern carved out of the wood on the door.

[Yusuko picked up her daughter but gasped as she heard voices and investigative footsteps from below – they would have heard that scream. "I'm scared, mommy." The young girl said at a whisper. "It's okay honey. Don't be scared. We're just playing a game of Hide and Shriek. Get in here." She pushed her little girl into the hall closet closest to them. "Stay quiet and stay hidden. Can you do that for me?" Yusuko said quietly and insistently. Asami nodded with determination.]

"Could you see through these carvings in the door?" Lin asked, knowing that she had no more questions unless this girl was an actual witness.

"Yes..."

"What happened next?"

[Yusuko pressed herself against the wall, listening intently for an indication of where the intruders were. Everything had fallen silent. After a few moments of listening and hearing nothing, Yusuko leaned down to the base of the closet. "Stay here sweetie. I'm going to get your father."

"Mommy went down the stairs to get daddy, but..."

"What?"

[Yusuko crept down the main staircase, peering around carefully. Once she reached the first floor with no resistance, she broke into a run. Unfortunately, her success did not last long. Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of her; then another, and another, and one more, slightly taller than the rest. Before long, she was completely surrounded.]

"The mustache-man – they said something, but I couldn't hear them, and then – he hurt her."

[One man stepped forward and took off his mask. "Remember me?" the man asked in a rough voice as he advanced on her. She tried to back up, but there was no escape. "Please – please don't do this." She pleaded. "Take whatever you want, just please – "]

"How?" Lin asked.

[The man scowled and raised his hand as a blade of fire formed in his palm. "I told you I would be back."]

"A knife I think...but it was glowing."

Lin turned and glanced at her colleagues then knelt next to Asami; this confirmed their suspicions. "Did it look like fire?"

"Mhm. A fire knife."

"Okay. Then what?"

[The man took his fiery blade and plunged it into her stomach, twisting just after he made the incision. He pulled back and Yusuko slowly crumpled to the ground. Once the deed was done, all four men gathered their bags full of valuable items and fled the scene.]

"Mommy fell down and they left. I waited until the noises stopped and then -"

"Noises? What noises?"

[Asami, still hiding in the closet, suppressed a yelp as her mother fell down and out of sight inside of that circle of men. Once they moved aside, it became clear that something horrible had happened. She sat in that closet, staring at her unmoving mother at the bottom of the stairs and waited for the footsteps to cease. Just as she was getting ready to open the door, she heard a shattering sound emanate from somewhere below. She again waited patiently until there was no sound for quite a while.]

"Something broke I think... Then I ran down to mommy, but she told me to find daddy."

[When she figured it was safe, Asami burst out of the closet and sped down the stairs. She kneeled next to her mother who was nearly unconscious as she lay on the floor. "Mommy?" Asami asked and shook her slightly on the shoulder. Yusuko's breathing was staggered and shallow, but she managed to speak at a slow whisper. "Go find – your dad." Asami nodded, and tried to stand, but her mother's hand reached out and touched her arm before she could move. "Asami – I – I love you." The young girl kissed her mom on the cheek and stood up. "I love you too. Don't worry. I'll be right back."]

Lin nodded and cupped her hand on the girl's tiny shoulder, "Thank you Asami. You've been a great help." She stood up to full height and stepped aside to address her officers in hushed tones. "This means we were right about the door. They had a key, or someone let them in. I want everyone on this lead, understood?"

"Affirmative, Chief." Li and Saikhan replied simultaneously as they all moved to descend the stairs and exit the house.

"Excuse me Miss. um..." A little voice piped up from behind them.

Lin stopped and turned. "You can call me Lin."

"Miss. Lin... When is my mommy coming back?" Asami asked with so much innocence, it ached to listen. "Do you need to talk to her to?"

Lin's heart dropped and she shot a horrified look at Hiroshi who, with tears in his eyes, slowly shook his head. He hadn't told her yet... She didn't blame him, of course. How do you tell your six-year old that her mother is never coming home? Lin was frozen, unsure of how to respond. "N-No, I... I -"

"I think it's time for you to go." Hiroshi said to Lin and took his daughter's hand.

Lin nodded and bowed slightly to them both before taking her leave, her eyes itching with tears that she was fighting to suppress.


End file.
